Efficiency v. Effectiveness: There is a Difference

I have a confession. I always thought that if I was being efficient that I was also being effective. But last month I learned that there is a difference between being efficient and being effective.

It started when I had a chance to visit the Toyota car plant in Kentucky last month and watched the people on the assembly line. Over the past year I immersed myself in studying the Toyota Production System (TPS) and I got the opportunity to see it in action.

As I watched the people on the assembly line something stood out to me. The people on the assembly line did not seem to be rushed for time. They certainly had a job to do, but they focused more on being effective not necessarily speedy.  Plus, they let their tools work for them instead of letting the tools replace the people.

That day I learned that what I need to focus on is helping law firms be more effective.  To me being effective means that the people doing the job are focused on what really matters. You can be efficient at something, but if that something that doesn’t add value to your clients then why even do that task.  Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to be efficient that we forget to take a step back and see if we are being effective.

Our desire is to focus on how to help law firms be more effective.  We will also be developing new products beyond just Document Automation to help law firms get to what matters most by being more effective.